It’s April.
It should be sunny in California. There should be puffy clouds, puppies, bunnies, and ducklings floating in the blue. There should be smells of fresh grass. There should be a gentle breeze bringing the hope of spring.
Instead, it’s raining – a steady rain soaking the world and forcing kitties indoors.
The reality of being stuck at home is taking its toll. We’re starting to see what happens in a global crisis – some unite in common purpose, some become selfish, and some try to deny reality.
What’s a poet to do? Pick a side and join their chorus? What side is compassion on?
Perhaps I just think too much. Maybe if it were sunny I could build another planter box, and my busy hands would keep my mind silent.
Maybe.
April is also National Poetry Month. Many bloggers are participating in NaPoWriMo – National Poetry Writing Month.
Last year I thought about participating, but dismissed it as not the way I work. I tend to think about a single poem for a long time before I actually write it down. NaPoWriMo asks you to write a poem a day. I’ve tried doing that at a couple of writing conferences. It’s not easy for me and the resulting poems weren’t exactly what I wanted, but they weren’t horrible.
So this year I’m thinking of trying. I am stuck at home and sometimes breaking old creative habits can surface new ones.
I should have started on Wednesday, but … well life and indecision.
Well, today I decided to start. Fragments of poems have been popping into my head, so of the five poems I should have written – I’ve completed three.
Many people who do this share their poems with daily posts. I haven’t decided if I’ll do that, I might.
But right now the rain is easing and hope that the sun will break through.
Andrew's View of the Week 